Best way to get ship manifests from China in 1800s?
My ancestor traveled from China to Peru (Hong Kong to Lima/Callao) in 1873 but I don't have much more information than that. Have never searched for ship manifests before. Any tips would be a huge help.
Admin referral to include: @Chinese Genealogy Research 中文家譜尋根 @Latin American Genealogy Research
Answers
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Unfortunately there are not any ship manifests that exist throughout Latin America. What is your ultimate goal in your research? Looking for when he/she arrived in Peru? Where they were from in China?
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On the Peru Emigration and Immigration page of the FamilySearch Research Wiki, I found this reference:
- Emigración china para el Perú, 1854-1876 (Chinese Emigration to Peru, 1854–1876). Arequipa: Onvento del la Merced, 1990. (FHL film 1563431 item 7.) This book includes the records of the Chinese immigrants who came from Macao.
I looked up this film using Search:Catalog. Item 7 is contained in Images 2005-2211. This shows immigration records on individuals both in Spanish and Chinese. Looking at the Chinese records (sorry, I don't know Spanish), it does give Chinese names and the dates of arrival. Unfortunately, despite the range of dates listed in the description, the latest date I see for these records is the 5th year of the reign of Emperor Tong Zhi (同治), which is the year 1866. You may check with the Latin American Genealogy Research Community, or find someone well acquainted with Peruvian records, to see if other records exist for Chinese immigration in 1873.
Other than, Peruvian records, if the family has any items that have Chinese writing on them, such as letters, photos, etc., these are possible sources that many have names and other valuable information. Also, if you have ancestor who are buried in Peru and their gravestones have any Chinese inscriptions, these are also valuable sources of information.
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Hi Lynn. Thanks! Ultimately, I would like to find out this ancestor’s original Chinese name. When he lived in Peru, he assumed a Spanish name (Federico Salinas) but his actual birth name was Chinese. Unfortunately, we don’t have much more information about him other than birthplace (Canton, China), birth year, arrival date to Peru, and his Spanish name. I was hoping to track down a manifest from 1873 to see if he’s listed and trace his original Chinese name there.
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Wow, thank you! I’ll look at the archive just in case I find anything useful. Unfortunately, my ancestor’s immediate family members (spouse, children) are deceased, and we don’t have any other information, especially Chinese writing. I’m not even sure where he is buried. This is a tough case for us, but I will see if we can follow one of these leads, maybe someone with information related to the Chinatown in Peru, which is where he lived. Thanks again.
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@Cathey Rivas Salinas , I'm not part of this Facebook group, but I wonder if members may know of historical resources that could be helpful to you: https://www.facebook.com/familiasdelainmigracionchinaenelperu
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Thank you! I didn't know about this group, but it looks like they have some useful information for further searches in Peru. I appreciate it!
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Hello,
I've recently been reading into the migration of Chinese workers to Northern Chile, Southern Peru.
This article may be of use as far as context, and its sources may be helpful as to where to search for records. "The Chinatown in Peru and the Changing Peruvian Chinese Communities" by Isabelle Lausent-Herrera
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00598155/document
If I find more, I'll be sure to post.
All the best!
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If you are searching for your ancestors, you can record their names and other information in the Family Tree and copy the URL and share them with a group where you expect them who might have information about your ancestors so they can connect with more information in the Tree.
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